6. Chapter 4
FRANKIE
S he blinked several times, alarm filling her face as she looked at him. “Oh no, did I get stuck in my head and lose track of time? Did I not hear a question? I am so sorry. This never happens. I’m normally so much more professional.”
Lies.
It was all lies. She constantly got lost in her own thoughts, forgetting about everything around her.
“Shh, you’re okay,” he whispered. “You aren’t in trouble, but you did get zone out a little.”
She relaxed in the chair and took a deep breath. She needed to stop getting caught up in her head, but it wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. Okay… it was but she didn’t want to make herself freak out over nothing. Everything was going to be okay.
“Does that happen a lot?” He cocked his head to the side. “You getting lost in your thoughts.”
Frankie looked away for several seconds before bringing her attention back to him. “Yes,” she whispered, not able to lie this time.
There was only so much lying Frankie could do it a day, and she was reaching her limit. How many times had she lied today? She didn’t know and that was a problem. She wasn’t going to be able to keep up with all her lies.
“While you are working or just while you are sitting and relaxing?” Noah asked.
“Mostly when I’m relaxed. At my other jobs, I didn’t space out while I was working,” she honestly replied.
She couldn’t afford to. Not when she needed to focus and make sure she didn’t break anything. It was exhausting, but she always did it and made sure she didn’t go off into her dreamland.
“Every once in a while is okay while you are working, but if it happening constantly will then become a problem,” he told her.
“I don’t daydream while I work.” She narrowed her eyes on him.
Why was he acting like she said she did? She didn’t. Frankie didn’t have the luxury to do it all the time. It only happened when she was relaxed or nothing much was happening around her.
“I wasn’t saying you were. I was just saying that if you do, some is okay,” Noah calmly said.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Sorry.”
“You’re okay. I know a lot has happened in the past couple of hours. Everything is going to be all right. We are going to get you through this paperwork, and then you can go back home and get some rest before you show up for work tomorrow,” he told her.
Frankie couldn’t help but smile. She had a job here. She had a job that would pay more than her last one. Maybe then she’d have some money to go toward something else besides her medicine and a couple of cheap staple ingredients.
“How about you fill out this paperwork while I go grab something from the kitchen,” Noah said. “It’s my dinner, actually. Do you want anything to eat?”
She shook her head. “No, thank you.”
But Frankie badly wanted the food. When was the last time she had a proper meal? Too long but she didn’t want to eat in front of Noah, not when her hands were shaking. If he saw that, he might ask what was going on.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” he asked. “It is free.”
Frankie looked away and took a deep breath in. He was tempting her with free food. She should say yes. When would she get a free meal again? This had never happened before, so the likelihood of it happening again was slim to none.
“We have sandwiches and salads. We also have other things the chef can make if you want something different. I bet we have some nuggies if you want them.” She smiled at her.
Nuggies sounded amazing , but she kept her mouth shut. She didn’t need to eat them. Frankie didn’t want to taste them and then not be able to have them again. They were a luxury for her.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” he asked.
Noah was still kneeling in front of her. Did his knees not hurt? Frankie didn’t think she’d have been able to get up after and walk properly if she’d been in that position for a while..
“How about I get you some nuggies to eat, and if you don’t want to eat them now, then you can eat them later,” he suggested. “I feel bad causing you some stress at the front of the club. It was never my intention. Let me make it up to you?”
Frankie closed her eyes for several seconds before looking at him.
“I really do feel bad. I don’t like causing people stress and you looked pretty stressed.” He smiled at her.
“Cause I was late,” she mumbled.
“Yes, you were but that’s okay. This was just the interview. It’s nothing too serious.” He cupped her cheek.
She leaned into his touch, loving the warmth his hand was giving her. It was like they were meant to be, like they were made for each other.
“So, do you want some nuggies?” he asked.
“Okay.” She sighed. “Just a couple. I don’t need a lot.”
His grin grew bigger as he stood up. “Good. I want you to fill out this paperwork while I’m gone. No rush, and if you aren’t done when I come back, there’s no need to worry. Take your time.” He handed her some paper and a pen before walking out of the room.
She looked down and the first thing she saw was a space for her address.
There was no way she was going to put her address on there.
Not when she lived in a bad part of town.
Maybe she could claim that she didn’t want anyone knowing her address.
Maybe then, Noah would believe her. Why did he need to know where she lived anyway?
It didn’t take long for Frankie to fill out everything in the forms before she placed them on his desk and sat back.
Snuggling into the chair, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
For a chair, it was really comfortable. It was like she was floating on air.
Way more comfortable than her bed back at her apartment, and she felt safe in here.
Anyone would have to go through Dominic, the bouncer, before being able to enter the club, which eased her worries. Nothing could happen to her. This was the most comfortable and safe she had felt in a while.
Living in the apartment didn’t bring her much comfort or safety at all.
She only had one lock on her door, it was one room, and it wasn’t in a good part of town.
The only place she could hide in her apartment was her bathroom or under her bed, which anyone would look in if they came in since it was such a small place.
Frankie didn’t get good sleep there at all. It was hard when her ears picked up every single noise and wondered whether it was someone trying to get into her apartment or not. It was exhausting. Frankie was ready to get out of the apartment and find some place better to live.
If that was ever going to happen, she didn’t know.
“Frankie?” Noah’s voice filled the room. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not asleep!” she yelled, shooting out of her chair.
“Woah, Little one. You’re okay. I know you weren’t asleep,” he calmly soothed her.
She took a deep breath in and sat down again. Everything in her wanted to fall asleep in this chair and get the good sleep she desperately needed. But she couldn’t do that, not in her boss’s office. He didn’t need to know how badly she needed to sleep.
“Here’s your nuggies. I didn’t know if you wanted ketchup, mustard, or nothing. I put them in little bowls so they didn’t touch the nuggies.” Noah handed her the plate.
Frankie looked down at the plate, her mouth already watering at the smell of them. They looked absolutely delicious, ready for her to eat them.
“I made sure before that they were the correct temperature for you so you don’t burn your mouth. You start eating while I look over this paperwork.” Noah placed his plate on his desk and eased himself into his chair.
After picking one up, she dipped it in ketchup before slowly bringing it to her mouth, savoring the taste as it burst through her mouth.
This was the life. If she could eat nuggies all the time, she would.
If she could be this comfortable and feeling this safe while she slept, that would be the dream.
Maybe she could sneak into his office after he left for the day and sleep, knowing she was safe.
Though, she didn’t know what Noah’s schedule was like. That posed a problem. What if he left super late and arrived early? Frankie wouldn’t be able to do that, not when she was already getting such terrible sleep.
“Are they good?” Noah asked.
Nodding, she took another bite on the nuggie before looking at him. Noah was already gazing at her, a faint smile across his face.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying them. Eat up,” he encouraged. “If you need more, let me know and I can grab more.”
She looked down at her plate before lifting her head. There was no way she would be able to eat all of this. It was like he had placed double the portion, almost like he thought they were going to share.
Noah studied the paperwork in his hands, his eyebrows furrowing before he looked up at me. “You didn’t put your address down.”
Frankie sucked in a breath. She knew that, but what was she going to say to him about it?
“What’s your address? I can write it down for you.” He grabbed a pen.
“I’m not comfortable with people knowing my address,” she blurted out.
Not a lie. She didn’t want anyone know where she lived since it was the bad part of town. She wanted everyone to be oblivious so she didn’t need to hear any comments about needing to move.
Frankie knew she needed to move. It was on her list of things to do once she became a millionaire… or got married and could move into his house. Either one would work, but she had a feeling none of them were going to happen.
“I need to know just in case something happens,” he told her.
“Like what?” She took another bite of her nuggie.
He smiled. “In case something happens to you and I need to get into your apartment or house to grab you a couple of things. In case you don’t show up and we need to make sure you are okay.
Just in case you call one of us, needing something, and we can go and help you.
No one else will know unless it is absolutely necessary.
No one looks at these paperwork. It gets filed in my drawer that I lock. ”
How was she going to get out of this? How was she going to get out of telling him her address when he gave her all very good reasonings? She had given her address to her other employers, but there was something about Noah and this place that made her not want to tell him.
Maybe it was because she knew he was a Daddy Dom.
All the Daddy Doms she had interacted with and read about all got possessive when they found out the Little didn’t live in a good part of town.
She knew it wasn’t good, and while she wanted someone to fuss over her, she didn’t want it to be her boss…
not when she had a crush on him already.
“Frankie, I need to know. Are you homeless?” he asked.